WYOMISSING, Pa. -- It may look like just another classy catered dinner in a hotel ballroom, but among the silverware, salads, and entrees is an element meant to teach.
"So a lot of people are really nervous to come into it, and they don't know what to expect and when they get out of it, they realize how hard and how challenging it can be," Morganne Bennett, a Kutztown University student, said.
"This is my first time that I came to Dining in the Dark," 5 -year-old Paisley Conrad said.
Dine In The Dark is an annual event held by the Vision Resource Center of Berks County at the Crowne Plaza in Wyomissing.
It raises money and awareness about what visually impaired people go through every day.
Participants are blind-folded and learn how to navigate around their plate, with help from visually-impaired clients and Kutztown University students.
Kutztown University sophomore Ilire Goca wants people to walk away with empathy and understanding.
"The misconception a lot of people have is that blind people always need help and I want to show people that blind people are just as capable as others to get out there and just get out there, go to work like a normal person would," Goca said.
Organizers want to emphasize that many will be able to take their blindfold off at the end of the evening but those that deal with visual impairments every day, can't.
"The complaint we always hear is ‘my family members don't understand what's going on with my vision,' so this is an experience that they can sit through and see what's going on," Lori Schermerhorn, CEO of Vision Resource Center of Berks County, said.
Helping others to see more clearly the problems and solutions in front of them.
